How to Crochet Fruity Baby Turtles for Summer

Make your summer special by crocheting 4 fruit-themed baby turtle plushies: kiwi, watermelon, dragon fruit, tangerine, and strawberry turtles. With colorful upper shells and detailed accents such as seeds or wedges, they are perfect for gifting to a dear one. Learn how to crochet these fruity baby turtles with the help of just a single tutorial designed for beginners. Let’s get started!

@ChubbyCheeks

Skills Used: All turtles begin with a magic ring followed by single crochet (sc) stitches. Increases (2 sc in one stitch) and decreases (sc2tog) are used extensively to shape the body. Color changes and front loop/back loop only stitches help define fruit-specific aesthetics.

Skill Level: Intermediate

Crochet Fruity Baby Turtles Tutorial

This vibrant tutorial covers five adorable fruity baby turtle amigurumi—watermelon, kiwi, dragon fruit, tangerine, and strawberry—made using soft chenille yarn and a 2.5 mm crochet hook. Each turtle consists of an upper shell, lower shell, fins, head, eyes, blush, and in one case, a leafy stem.

Upper Shell Construction and Decoration
Each fruit turtle’s shell begins with a colorful base and then decorative stitching mimicking seeds or wedges is applied. For example, the watermelon gets black yarn seeds stitched on the red shell; the strawberry receives white vertical “seeds”; and the tangerine features white yarn wedges spaced evenly in a circular pattern.

More detail

Lower Shell Shaping
The lower shell is crocheted into the back loops of the final round of the upper shell. This part includes three rounds of decrease patterns and ends with a full closure using front-loop-only stitching, completed after the plushie is stuffed.
Fin and Head Creation
Hind and front fins use similar patterns with gradual increases, followed by mirrored closing techniques using specific slip stitches to ensure symmetry. The head is worked in rounds with increasing and decreasing to form a slightly oval shape and then sewn to the upper shell.

Facial Details and Accessories
Eyes are made from black yarn stitched between rounds 3 and 4 of the head. Small touches of pink yarn serve as blush under the eyes. The strawberry turtle gets an extra detail—a leafy green stem—made from chained loops and attached to the top with glue.
Assembly and Final Tips
All parts are sewn together—fins, head, stem—with yarn tails, placed carefully for visual balance. Tips for adjusting fin positions or styling facial features allow for creative variations.

Supplies Needed

Here are the supplies used in the video tutorial crochet fruity baby turtles:

Yarn

Chenille yarn (soft, plush texture) in the following colors:
- Red, Pink – For watermelon and strawberry upper shells
- White – For kiwi and dragon fruit bases
- Green – For watermelon rind and strawberry leaves
- Brown – For kiwi outer layer and lower shell
- Hot pink – For dragon fruit lower shell
- Orange – For tangerine shell
- Light peach – For tangerine lower shell
- Black yarn – For embroidering eyes and fruit seeds
- White yarn – For strawberry seeds and tangerine wedges
- Pink yarn – For blush on turtle faces